Highlights

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The U.S. Treasury says that it plans to sell 30 million additional shares of General Motors stock in a new public offering in conjunction with GM's return to the S&P 500 index.

Holding about 14 percent of GM, the United Auto Workers Retiree Medical Benefits Trust plans to participate by selling 20 million shares. This will make the total offering size 50 million shares, representing about 12 percent of Treasury's outstanding GM stock.

This may mean that Treasury completely exits in 2013, rather than by the end of March 2014. The return to the S&P will prompt significant demand for GM shares. Stocks have recently traded near its highest level since February of 2011. GM is filing a new prospectus ahead of the sale.

The Treasury sold nearly 20 percent of its remaining shares in General Motors Co. in the first three months of the year.

The Treasury, which initially held 60.8 percent of GM as part of the U.S. $49.5 billion bailout, now owns just 16.4 percent, or 241.7 million shares. The Treasury sold GM 200 million shares of its stake for $5.5 billion last December to reduce its stake to 300 million shares.

The Treasury has recouped $30.6 billion in total. At current trading prices, Treasury would lose around $10 billion on its GM bailout.

GM's return will mark the purchase of GM shares by many stock index funds. GM said it was happy to assist.

"We appreciate the opportunity to assist in this offering made possible by our rejoining the S&P 500," Dan Ammann, GM senior vice president and chief financial officer says. "Our focus remains on continuing the progress we are making in the marketplace with world-class cars, trucks and crossovers."

The move means that the UAW trust will hold about 140 million shares after the sale, or a nine percent stake, about the same size as the Canadian government's 140 million shares it still holds as part the Ontario and Canadian federal government's $10 billion GM bailout in 2008 and 2009.

"The sale is opportunistic given the recent S&P500 inclusion announcement, which we estimate requires an 85.4mm share buy. The accelerated sell-down by the government should be viewed positively," Capital analyst Joseph Spak says. "We believe (the Treasury exit) could be quicker - perhaps by the end of the year. This could open the door for additional capital actions including a potential dividend."

Pope Francis Prayer Intentions for March 2015
Universal: Scientists: That those involved in scientific research may serve the well-being of the whole human person.
Evangelization: Contribution of women: That the unique contribution of women to the life of the Church may be recognized always.

How
big is Apple? The creator of the iPhone and tablets is SO BIG that it
is now currently twice as big as its second-closest rival, ExxonMobil.
This is being reflected in the stock market, where shares in Apple
jumped 2.7 percent at the start of the week to ... continue reading

Where
is all of our hard-earned money going? Real federal tax revenues for
the first time ever topped $1 trillion in the first four months of the
fiscal year, October through January, according to data released
Wednesday by the U.S. Treasury. LOS ANGELES, CA ... continue reading

Insurance
giant Anthem suffered a massive security breach when hackers broached
computer safeguards and mad a wild data grab. Up to 80 million Americans
have had their privacy effectively invaded, although authorities say
more sensitive information was not ... continue reading

RadioShack,
an iconic, 94-year-old electronics chain has filed for bankruptcy
protection. The company has decided to sell up to 2,400 of its stores to
the wireless service provider Sprint and a hedge fund that is its
biggest shareholder. LOS ANGELES, CA ... continue reading

Saving money is not a simple task. It is hard to resist eating out or buying the hottest new music. How can your savings account grow when spending money is so easy in today's world? LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Whether you're planning on moving or looking to ... continue reading

Despite the continuing decline of the price of oil, Saudi Arabia has
actually increased its oil production in an attempt to gain a victory in
the oil war against shale drillers in the United States. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Middle Eastern oil ... continue reading

Apple has sold 74.5 million iPhones in just the last three months,
helping the tech giant's profits soar to $18 billion, up more than 37 percent. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - This is the largest profit ever made by a corporation, edging out the $16.2 billion ... continue reading

There
are alarming indications that the largest corporate layoff in history
may be near. There are rumors afoot that computer IBM plans to lay off
110,000 employees shortly. As their entire worldwide workforce is
estimated at 430,000, this represents a quarter ... continue reading

The staggering increasing inequality among the wealthy and poor around the world continues to be a pressing issue. Eighty rich billionaires have as much money as 3.5 billion of the poorest people. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The wealthy are occuring their ... continue reading

Around 1,700 private jets will cover the sky, as the most elite people of the world descend on the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Throughout the next week, world leaders, wealthy businessmen and even influential pop stars will come together to speak ... continue reading